Mars Rover Curiosity’s Exciting Exploration of Naukluft Plateau Continues with Characterizing Bedrock, Driving, and Contact Science Activities

Currently, Curiosity is exploring the Naukluft Plateau and has recently completed a drive of about 27 meters on Sol 1284, bringing the total traverse distance to approximately 12,549 meters. The plan for today is to continue characterizing the bedrock in the area. In the morning, Curiosity will use Mastcam and ChemCam to study targets named “Mulden” and “Koigab. A Mastcam mosaic will also be taken to analyze the local stratigraphy. After this, Curiosity will resume driving towards the northwest and will take post-drive images to prepare for contact science activities over the weekend.

As the Geology Science Theme Lead (GSTL) on duty tomorrow, there will be an opportunity to contribute to the planning process and further explore the area with Curiosity’s instruments. Tomorrow, several observations will be conducted early in the morning, including Navcam, Mastcam, and ChemCam scans to monitor the atmospheric composition and opacity and to search for any clouds. The team is looking forward to planning some contact science activities during the weekend.